Typically, the type of apparatus described herein are referred to as card readers and are used in applications such as telephone billing, banking, cinema and mass transportation applications. However, the apparatus may also allow writing of information to the smart cards. The smart cards may contain integrated circuits, microprocessors or read/write memory.
The smart cards use in radiotelephones currently has been limited to the subscriber identification module (SIM) cards for use in the European market. SIM cards are available in two sizes; the full size card and the chip card. Self-contained SIM card readers can be bought from vendors. However, the self-contained units are cumbersome, because of the redundant walls and the necessary connectors for interfacing to other electronic devices. The size and integral design are important in a portable radiotelephone. Therefore, a need exists for an integrated smart card retention apparatus for use in a portable radiotelephone.